Francis A. Sullivan's hermeneutical approach to magisterial documents: Its method and application
Abstract
This dissertation examines the theological work of Francis A. Sullivan, S.J., giving particular focus to his engagement with texts of the magisterium. It argues that Sullivan contributes crucial insights to contemporary ecclesiology, both in a nuanced hermeneutical reading of the writings of popes, councils, and Vatican dicasteries and congregations, and in a rehabilitation of the theological notes. His hermeneutical methodology is read in contact with and through the lens of influential hermeneutical theories from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the tradition of variegated readings of doctrine associated with the theological notes, and the theology of Karl Rahner, which formed and informed Francis Sullivan's career and writing. Shaped by these influences, Sullivan's multidimensional method can, I contend, be of aid to theologians and the magisterium moving forward, especially in recasting the benefits of the theological notes in a new framework more attuned to current and developing interpretive issues.
Subject Area
Theology
Recommended Citation
Canaris, Michael M, "Francis A. Sullivan's hermeneutical approach to magisterial documents: Its method and application" (2012). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3563392.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3563392
